Bid to boost growth and reform, Finance Minister, analyst and travel operator



June 13, 2013 1. Wide of Indian Finance Minister P Chidambaram at news conference 2. SOUNDBITE (English) P Chidambaram, Indian Finance Minister: "I don't think we need to panic about what's happening to the rupee. Yes, it does put pressure on inflation. It does put pressure on the subsidy bill, especially for imported commodities, but I think the rupee will find its level. And I think the authorities will take measures to ensure that there's no volatility." June 12, 2013 3. Close of hundred US dollar bill 4. Close of money in counting machine 5. Various of man changing foreign exchange rates on bulletin board 6. Close of 'STIC Travel' sign 7. Tilt up of travel guides 8. Wide of travel agent and customers 9. Close of computer screen showing plane seating chart 10. Mid of couple at travel agent desk 11. SOUNDBITE (English) Subhash Goyal, chairman of STIC Travel Group: "The budget traveller, the student, the middle class family, four people are going, if they have to pay 10 percent more, their cost goes up by another 20-30 percent, 40 percent. So they have to think twice." 12. Wide of petrol station 13. Wide of car driving into petrol station 14. Various of fuel pump in car 15. Set up of Economist Kunal Kumar Kundu 16. Cutaway of hands typing on computer 17. Close of computer screen showing charts 18. SOUNDBITE (English) Kunal Kumar Kundu, economist: "Even when dollar overall was depreciating, Indian currency was still depreciating vis-a-vis dollar. Indian currency depreciated vis-a-vis euro. So which means that there is more to it than one can really think of. The reason I would put that to is the fact that fundamentally Indian economy is on a weaker footing." 19. Mid of station pump 20. Various of petrol station employee collecting money STORYLINE India's finance minister said on Thursday that there was "no need to panic" about the rapidly depreciating rupee and that steps were being taken to arrest the fall. The Indian rupee touched a record low of 58.98 to the US dollar on Tuesday. "Yes, it does put pressure on inflation. It does put pressure on the subsidy bill, especially for imported commodities, but I think the rupee will find its level. And I think the authorities will take measures to ensure that there is no volatility," Finance Minister P Chidambaram told reporters in the Indian capital, New Delhi. The rupee has depreciated by over 3 percent against the US dollar in the last three days and has fallen by more than 5 percent since January 1, the Press Trust of India news agency reported. On Thursday the rate continued to hover above 58 rupees to the US dollar. Among those most affected are Indians travelling abroad in the holiday season, and students going overseas to study. Travel companies say they are altering prices of travel packages to match the hotel and sight-seeing prices quoted in dollars. But people are re-thinking their budgets and cutting down on vacation time, according to Subhash Goyal, the chairman of the STIC Travel Group. "The budget traveller, the student, the middle class family, four people are going, if they have to pay 10 percent more, their cost goes up by another 20-30 percent, 40 percent. So they have to think twice," said Goyal. The rupee decline is being attributed to a surge in the value of the dollar against several global currencies, as well as India's rising current account deficit, which is estimated to have increased to 5 percent of GDP in 2012-13. The large current account deficit is due to a rising import bill comprising fuel and gold, officials say. A major repercussion of the depreciating rupee against the dollar will be an increase in fuel prices, economists warn. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/7f529769d93c274feaf5a2e91691d3f7 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork

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